Broken Promises
by whitechocomonkey
Summary: After a difficult journey, Yona and Hak came to face the source of their troubles, Soo-Won. However, he has long since escaped and the two are once again left to pick up the pieces of their broken world. Will they ever attain happiness when it seems so far away?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I just finished rereading the manga, and remembered why I love it so much! As a hardcore HakxYona shipper, I couldn't resist writing this. This is my version of the aftermath of what would happen if the team met with Soo-Won again. Hope you enjoy.

Warning: Contains mention of characters that haven't been introduced to the anime.

She sat in silence, clutching her knees next to a small alcove of trees. Their branches draped over a pile of collapsing boulders, settled in a haphazard mound and puckered from the landslides and windstorms that afflicted these parts of the woods. It had been a long time since she had acclimated herself to sleeping outdoors under the milky moonlight to the hum of buzzing mosquitoes and rushing river currents, or gotten used to living through treacherous conditions.

The night froze over with the arrival of twilight, and she could hardly keep her fingers from shaking and turning a pale blue. Hak offered to keep the young princess warm, but she refused to rely on him, because she knew she would grow dependent on that warmth. There was little doubt she held that if he were to coddle her even through the long nights, she would soon require it, and she was already a burden.

Yona stared into the icy pond, and cursed her haggard reflection. Scars etched across her flushed cheeks, and bruises swelled along her shaking arms. All she saw was a pathetic, fragile little girl. Closing her eyes, she swiped a shivering hand across the crisp crystal surface and stirred the worn image. Visions of Hak flashed behind her lids, the dulled memories swirling in the darkness. She remembered the flurry of flesh and the screams that carried across the treetops and silenced the birds. Soo-Won was long gone into the clearing, but the thirst for blood in Hak's clouded slate grey eyes remained, as he fought desperately to catch him. Kija struggled to stop and calm him, but the Thunder Beast lived up to his infamous reputation and cut him down with little effort. Even Jae-Ha's attempts to bring him back to the crippling reality they faced had failed.

"Let me go!" he roared. "Let me kill him!"

"Hak." She placed a single, small hand on his. "That's enough."

His eyes bulged wide from his face unblinking, like a wild animal that had come face to face with death itself. And then, he fell to his knees. She had never seen him look so broken. This man who had teased her mercilessly through her childhood, and maintained his dismissive, apathetic humor throughout their dangerous journeys, was now ravaged and sobbing into the moistened earth, freshly damped from the coming rain as the sky cried with him. So much raw sorrow was painful to behold.

She folded over, to dip her hands and splash the crisp water in her face as she returned to the cold of the present. Another reflection flickered uncertainly behind hers, and she turned to see him. He had closed himself off once again, his arms crossed tightly against his broad chest and his face turned away, hardly daring to look at her.

"Princess." He addressed her quietly and sat several feet behind her, to keep watch but not so much as cause a disturbance. The sword was sheathed closely beside him, and he kept a cautious hand hovering atop the menacing weapon.

"Hak." She responded softly and held a delicate and gentle fingertip on his arm. He brushed it away quickly, and stared into the upturned dirt, mulling over the memory himself.

"I should have killed him. I had every opportunity." He drove the hilt of the sword deep into the earth, splitting the soil. "But I couldn't do it. I wouldn't. I knew I'd grown complacent." The blaze in his eyes from that day flashed once more. "I'm so weak."

"Wouldn't?" The words rolled off her tongue. She drew her hand back towards his, and rested it on his throbbing knuckles whitened from his tight grasp on the blade. His hand relaxed at her touch. "You aren't weak. It's not that you weren't able to kill Soo-Won. You chose not to. Isn't that right, Hak?" He froze in shock for a moment as he saw the wisdom of the former king reflected in his daughter's eyes. Pursing her lips, Yona held her breath for a moment and stared up at the stars. "I've wondered for a long time what I would do if I met again with Soo-Won. If I would exact my revenge, or attempt to reclaim my rightful place on the throne. But to be honest, I wouldn't do any of that. I belong here, protecting the people directly. And regardless of what he's done, Soo-Won's proved to be the king that Kouka deserves. The country needs him. You know that just as well as I do. It was the right choice."

"I will never acknowledge him," Hak spat venomously. "Soo-won killed King Il in cold blood. He's a liar and a murderer. He betrayed my trust. And he betrayed yours." He bowed his head in bitter silence. Clumps of wild grass waved in the softening breeze, and Yona ran her fingers through the mossy trails that clung to the masses of granite at her side. His following words were so quiet; the whispers were nearly lost in the wind. "He was still once my friend."

The whistle of the whirring air sang out into the night, and the birds responded with their own cheery tunes before retiring to their straw beds in the trees. He stared out into the distance through the curtains of shrubbery and continued. "I always thought that the three of us would continue that way. That we would always be together. That he would marry you and become the rightful king, and I would serve as both of your right hand for the rest of my days. He was the only one that I didn't mind losing you to. Because I knew he would take care of you, that he would make you happier than I ever could. I was so naive." Hak paused as the words sank deeper. "I've destroyed my impulses for you time and time again. And what was it for?" He trailed off, and listened to the chatter of crickets in the brush. Hak turned to face Yona and his gaze burned holes in her. He stroked her face with the side of his hand, his fingers tracing her jaw and to the nape of her thin pale neck. "I'm so tired of always holding back."

"Hak?" Yona murmured, as he leaned closer. His lips inched forward towards hers as his eyes slowly closed. Her body tensed for a moment, as a deep crimson raged through her blushing cheeks. She let her eyes flutter close as well as she anticipated the moment.

"Just kidding." He grinned, and flicked her nose. He leaned back onto his elbows and sighed. A shadow danced across his brow as his eyes deadened. "I'm only rambling. Just forget it."

"Don't do that," she sputtered. "Don't pass it off as a joke." Her voice cracked with a strange rush of emotion that was foreign to Hak, at least when it came to their relationship. He was accustomed to shouted insults and rebuttals to his own affectionate mocking. This honesty seemed to be reserved only for moonlit nights beneath a blanket of stars and muddy blotches of silver galaxies.

"Princess?" His own tone was hoarse as he felt the space between them grow thick and heavy. He reached out to touch her, but hesitated. Their skin seemed to repel and draw the other simultaneously.

"Could you call me Yona?" she asked, and pulled a handful of dirt from the ground and let it sift through her fingers.

"But-" he began to protest, but she clasped his hands. He felt her fingers intertwine with his own and a shiver ran down his back.

"Just for tonight. Tomorrow, I guess everything will be back to normal. But tonight I want to be Yona. Maybe it's a selfish wish, but right now I don't want to be the lost princess or the escaped daughter of King Il. I just want to be another person sitting beside you, and pretend that things are peaceful for one second. That things are normal." She stared back into the sky, and tightened her grip on his hand with a soft saddened smile. "But I suppose it's a ridiculous idea." She carved patterns on his rough callused palms. "It's just as Ik-Soo said. My destiny will be a difficult path to walk if I live on. Normality is a thing of the past." She let the idea fester before venturing to another brighter topic. A crooked grin pulled at the corners of her lips. "But it's funny remembering those days. You know, in the past, when we'd roam the palace together. And my biggest problem was taming this impossibly wild hair. You'd tease me for being so vain. And Soo-Won would-"

Her voice faded abruptly at the sound of his name on her tongue and he knew what she was thinking of. That man would easily compliment her hair and compare it to the rising sun, and she'd hang on his every word like the words were oozing lumps of caramel.

"He thought your hair was beautiful,'" Hak finished for her emotionlessly, and her face flushed at the mere fleeting remembrance as if she were still in the palace fussing over her unruly crimson locks with a broken comb, teeth missing from vicious strokes through disobedient tangles. Bitterness quickly replaced the emotion as the memory completed itself, and she took in her surroundings and recalled what brought them there.

"He would be the only one." Yona chuckled bitterly and studied the backdrop and how the trees silhouetted the horizon. It looked like a painting she'd once seen atop polished marble walls next to golden threaded tapestries that depicted legends of all ages. She would probably never see any of it again.

"No, he wouldn't," Hak murmured, and followed her gaze silently. He might not have been able to speak such tender words as easily as Soo-Won, but that didn't prevent them from constantly living in his thoughts and in the unnoticed looks he cast at her from across the palace grounds.

She let the words go unnoticed, and stared at the ground, too lost in the memories to return to the world. Her hand drew away from his and raked through her hair in slow circles. Her hair, which was now cropped short and filthy, caked with mud and threaded with broken twigs and leaves. "He said it looked like the dawning sky." Her eyes glazed over beneath the glow of light pouring from the stars.

"I don't see it," Hak stated bluntly as he crossed his arms once more. Yona attempted to shoot him a sarcastic glare from the corner of her tired bloodshot eyes, but could hardly muster the energy. A pile of pebbles came undone and tumbled to the ground as he shifted his position to find one more comfortable. He closed his eyes and took in the atmosphere. "To me, it looks more like a fiery, red star. One that shines brightly in a sea of darkness. That guides and watches over the people with a dazzling brilliance." Leaning over, he rested his forehead on her shoulder." I'll probably follow that star till the day I die."

"Well you're not going to die anytime soon." She avoided the very thought of it, and bowed her head down to hide the water in her eyes from mere consideration. "I won't let you."

"Would you cry if I were gone?" He grinned, and lifted a lock of hair to see the beautiful face veiled beneath it. He narrowed the space between their noses in mischievous flirtation. He braced himself for her to call him stupid or an idiot or another default insult that came from his teasing, but she looked up at him boldly. Her eyes were still swollen, though he couldn't tell if it was from crying or sleep deprivation from their encounter with Soo-Won.

"Of course I would," she responded and squeezed both hands against his cheeks with a pout. It faded quickly and was replaced by a strong and reflective glimmer in her eye. "You're important to me. I need you by my side." Her hands softened and her thumbs drew tender circles on his stubbled skin. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

The attack took him by surprise, as he felt the blood boil in his veins. He didn't even stop another second to think as he closed the short distance between them and took hold of her. At first it was gentle, as if he didn't want to grip too hard because she would break. He drew away and looked at her supple damp lips, parted with expectation as her eyes glittered from the crumbs of moonlight that fell through the trees.

"Yona," he whispered.

They both pulled back to each other in a new desperation. Their lips crushed together passionately as he pried hers further apart with his tongue, flicking anxiously against her teeth. Her arms searched for the ground as her fingers tightened, ripping blades of dewdrop-speckled grass out of the soil, fire bubbling underneath her skin. Hak gently combed through her hair with a broad palm. He trailed his palms down to her waist and gripped it firmly as he pushed her to the ground and she wrapped her arms around his back. Several rough fingers slipped beneath her cloak in search of bare skin and she moaned.

Reality hit with striking intensity as the image of King Il flashed in Hak's mind. The kind king that had asked him to protect the princess no matter the cost. His fist clenched and fell to his side, as he wrenched at his hair with the other hand and groaned.

"What am I doing?" He buried his head into his knuckles.

"What's wrong?" She asked inquisitively and stroked the side of his face between soft pants.

"I'm sorry." He pressed his hand onto hers and held it for a moment before removing it with a sigh. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Ah." She furrowed her brow and a strange pang swirled through her stomach. A thousand thoughts pressed against her brain as she struggled to sift through them. The wind gurgled a cry through the trees as their branches violently churned. Her resolve cemented silently as she tried to force a smile, but it came out twisted. "You're right. How could I be so foolish?" Her eyes teared but she pushed it back with a false sense of composure. She didn't want to worry him anymore. "I can't forget who I am. Otherwise the memory of my father will disappear." The cracks in her voice stood out more than she wanted them to as she drew the invisible line before he had the chance. She quieted to a whisper, as she choked the words. "You can't forget either, Hak."

His body shook with each syllable as he watched her. There she was, the beautiful princess hunched in a shivering bundle. He reached out to touch her but caught himself. It would only be cruel. "I won't."

Hak lifted off the ground and his silhouette disappeared through the woods. She crumbled. The wind cried once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Hey, everybody. I'm back, avoiding school and obsessing over this pairing. Thanks again for reading!

"Listen up." Yoon pulled the map out of his pack, and rolled it out onto the ground. The camp rumbled softly with the sound of snoring, as he slammed his palm into the dirt to get a reaction. Sleeping bodies were strewn across the leafy floor and rustled softly at the noise. "There's a group of bandits coming that frequent this village. They take crops, livestock, and anything they can get their grubby hands on. The people there are really suffering. Well, I did my research and they're on their way tomorrow."

"That so," Jae-Ha grumbled as he pushed off the ground and blinked the crumbs of sleep out of his eyes.

"We should stop them," he pressed. "I couldn't find much else, but I've figured out the route they usually take, and if we're fast enough, we can intercept them right here." Yoon's finger took a nosedive to the paper and crinkled it on impact. "But we have to be quick about it. Soldiers are known to pass through these parts, and we don't want to draw too much attention. We already get enough as it is. Zeno says he's been here before and he can navigate pretty well, so we already have the advantage."

"That's right!" Zeno grinned broadly and stretched out his arms to the sky, breathing in the morning air. His energy was like an endless stream, undeterred by the pull of sleep and the chill away from the warm woolen layers in the dewy soil.

Yona grinned and brushed the dirt off her cloak as she stood up. "Then you can lead the way." Her smile faltered when she noticed the empty blanket nestled next to her tent. It was tipped with ash from the charred log fire they had thawed their fingers in the night before. Blackened wood still burned with a fading glow from lingering embers. A crow scattered from the trees above, breaking the deafening silence with an eerie cry. Her heart beat faster when she scanned the entire camp, and his absence struck even harder. "Where is Hak?"

"Hak? I think he went fishing with Kija," Yoon shrugged and rifled through his bag to find supplies for the pending attack.

She sat back on a broken stump and ran her fingers across her shivering arms. The morning was icy and unsympathetic. A gust thrashed the fabric of her tent and nearly ripped it from the ground. Another glance confirmed that he really was gone. She couldn't be sure whether she was disappointed or relieved. She hardly knew what she would've even said to him. She leaned back and stared into the sky. A mixture of pinks and oranges seemed to stretch on for miles, speckled with balls of drifting cotton cast with the dancing hues of sunrise. The image blurred together into black as she closed her eyes, and withdrew to the memories. Even still, she couldn't stop thinking about it. How it felt when their lips brushed. The heat of his hand when it pressed against her skin. And his tongue was so slippery. Her face exploded with red.

Everything flew through her brain at once, every kiss, every touch. She had barely gotten any sleep. With a groan, she slammed her palms across her cheeks to scrub off the color and wondered if he was as affected as she was. But it didn't matter. Shadows fell across her face as she remembered the words they shared when they parted. Nothing could happen between them. It was as unspoken as the moon's light sliding through the trees' arms with silent grace. The silver sphere hung low in the sky with the sun's arrival, readying to disappear once more behind the horizon. Her relationship with Hak was as painfully obvious as the fact that no night would last forever as much as she willed it. Another day would always come. She was a princess. And he was her servant. And Soo-Won was the man that had taken that from them and blurred that line. But no matter how blurred it was, it was still there.

A pile of fish slapped against the ground. He paused for only the slightest second, but it was enough for their eyes to meet. The heat in their gazes pulsated, as her lips parted to say something, but the moment passed. Hak lumbered on lazily with a fleeting nod as Kija stormed past and tossed his catch on top of the other pile with pride.

"Princess! Look how many more I caught." He grinned and cornered Yona with a sly grin. "You know how my abilities are far superior to that man's. You can always rely on me to protect you." Kija reached forward to clasp her hands but was halted by a menacing hand on his shoulder.

"You wish, White Snake." Hak dug his fingers deep into the skin, and grinned caustically. Kija spun to accept the challenge with his claws bared but missed the chance as Hak turned around and stalked off towards the campfire. He lowered to a crouch, and struck a stone to ignite a spark. After a few misfired attempts to relight the wood, he tossed in a couple more pieces and finally got a fire going big enough to cook their haul. "I was just distracted." He waved over Yoon to take it from there, and glanced mutedly back for a second. Yona felt Hak's eyes wash over her and shuddered. So, she wasn't the only one affected. He turned back towards Yoon and slumped over beneath the shade of a gnarled oak tree, burying his chin in his knuckles. "What's the update on those bandits you've been tracking?"

"They're close. We should strike tomorrow soon as the sun's up." Yoon skewered the fish and let the flames lap hungrily at the singed fleshy meat. Shin-Ah watched silently as his hands hovered beside the fire, soaking in the warmth as his fingers collected a smoky residue.

"Sounds alright to me." Hak leaned his back against the tree's withered trunk and closed his eyes, trying to shut it out. It seemed futile.

His nerves frayed as he folded his hands together and sighed in defeat. He could hardly muster composure when she was just feet away from him. It was a strange marvel, how an ex-general could unravel so easily from the presence of a small red headed princess. He'd had a lot of practice in pretending his feelings didn't exist, so much that he almost could believe it himself. But just from actually holding her and feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his, they were shoved back in his face stronger than ever. But they were only inconvenient, selfish feelings that would lead him nowhere. He knew that well enough.

"Hak?" Yona's voice came softly. Her hand rested against his arm and startled him. "Can you spar with me?" She motioned towards her wooden sword, sheathed and burrowed in the layers of blankets behind the open flap of her tent. It was a poor excuse, but it was all she could manage just to talk to him. "For practice."

"I think you're good enough, already. You don't need me anymore." Hak lifted off the ground dismissively, and dug his hands into his pockets. "If you really want to, go practice with Shin-Ah." He felt pathetic. Glancing back at Yoon, he gestured off towards the thicket of ferns lining the backdrop. "I'm going to scope out the area."

Yona opened her mouth to say something but slammed it shut, as he disappeared through the woods. Several prying eyes averted themselves as she glanced back, and Shin-Ah shook his head silently as he stroked Ao's head. She sighed disappointedly and trudged back towards her tent. Jae-Ha raised a suspicious brow and squinted his eyes in both of their directions. There was definitely something going on. With a cunning grin, he took off after Hak. His legs propelled him from the ground and shook the bed of leaves beneath them, as his outline grew thinner in the air the farther he went. He scrutinized the treetops, and spotted a dark figure through a small copse scattered with blossoms, wild grass, and copious sources of spring water.

Hak leaned down and reached his hands into the icy water, as it trickled out from a crevice in the stones. He pulled it to his lips and paused when he heard a voice from behind him. Droplets dribbled down his wrists as he turned back to identify it.

"So what exactly happened between you two?" Jae-Ha landed swiftly, and leaned onto Hak's shoulder with a coy smile. Jae-Ha always had a keen sense on how to read a room from as far back as he could remember. Being perceptive gave you an outside look to the world around you, and Jae-Ha used it to his advantage. It always felt like he was the member of an audience to a show being put on, and that had its entertaining moments. The excitement that went on between his traveling companions in particular never failed to amuse him, especially between the escaped princess and the Thunder Beast of Kouka.

"Nothing happened." Hak shook him off and grimaced. The last person he wanted to see was this guy. Droopy Eyes always seemed to put salt in wounds that were already festering.

"Is that why you're avoiding her so obviously? It's rather childish. I feel sorry for your poor beloved Yona-chan." Jae-Ha grinned and leaned back against the rock face, letting the running water spit through his fingers. It nipped and bit at the hairs on his hand, as the skin gradually turned a bright raw crimson from the cold. Drawing his fingers back, he sucked at the dripping moisture, and stared back towards the camp. "It almost hurts watching you drag your feet. If you don't make a move already, I'll steal her from you."

Hak froze up, flushed and nervous, and a jolt ran down Jae-Ha's spine. It was supposed to be all fun and games, but he was ashamed to admit that he'd developed a little bit of a soft spot for the princess. In fact, it wasn't little. Actually, it was pretty big, and there was nothing soft about it. It would prick him in the heart like tiny needles every time he would see her brazenly shooting her arrow or unsheathing her sword, and it also came like a brick when he saw her together whispering alone to the tall black haired man decked in grey and blue overcoats. There was electricity between Hak and Yona that they didn't even notice themselves. But Jae-Ha noticed. That was one of the downsides to his keen sense, he supposed. He could blame his dragon's blood for what he felt towards Yona as much as he could, but he knew it was more than that. Pushing the feeling down, he forced out a grin, and glanced down to the water to see if his reflection looked natural.

"Oh, that's what this is. You did make a move. How sly." Jae-Ha laughed, and splashed him. "I'm impressed." The water trailed off of Hak's face, but the black haired man hardly noticed. He stared lifelessly at the glittering sparks of light bouncing off the water's edge. It looked like scraps of tinsel. Jae-Ha frowned "What's the matter with you? Isn't this good?"

"There's nothing good about it." A shadow clouded his expression that Jae-Ha had seen only several times before in all the time he had known the Thunder Beast. It almost made him flinch. It was a look that came when Hak recalled the darkness of his past, a past he had sworn not to forget. But it seemed like it was slipping away from him, the closer he grew to Yona. It was a betrayal to the king he once served, and an injustice to the princess as well. He'd gotten too greedy.

"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I would steal her away," Jae-Ha murmured. "I'm serious about her." Hak clenched his jaw as Jae-Ha spun on his heels and hopped off, humming as he went. Lifting his hand, he waved lazily, as he readied himself to leap. "Just remember. If you don't make her happy, I will." And with that, he was gone.

Hak slammed his fist against the rock surface, and furrowed his brow, as frustration gnawed at him. "How can I possibly make her happy?"

With a sigh, he plodded further within the forest. He walked far out through the coppice for so long he lost track of time, slashing trees along his way as trail markers. He'd scoured nearly every edge of the woods, and found a dirt path that led to the village. The sound of voices immediately caught his attention, and he bowed his head and left his blade hidden close behind so he wouldn't stand out. There were villagers scattered everywhere, but a group huddled close together by the waterside, muttering to each other in fear. Small boat canals had been constructed recently for safe transport of goods and people, and it had built hype among the townspeople. But bandits who had already been stealing from the people had gone to the water and begun hijacking boats and merchandise. Soldiers patrolled the area, but they were easily paid off. Most of the village's resources were starting to run out. Yoon hadn't been the only one keeping track of the situation. Hak knew it was just a matter of time before the villagers were bled dry. He groaned. It looked like there really was little choice but to intervene.

"What's going on?" he asked, pushing through to the center. He had a good idea.

"They're coming tomorrow," a young woman sputtered, and covered her face. "What are we going to do? They'll take everything." Noticing him, she clammed up, and looked away anxiously.

"Who are 'they?'" he pressed further, fishing for more information. Yoon knew a good deal already, but he still hadn't managed to take any names. All the townspeople veered away from specifics. They all seemed terror-stricken. Hak doubted he'd have more luck, but it was worth a shot.

"Bandits," a man with auburn hair and spectacles mentioned vaguely. Hak rolled out the kinks in his shoulders, and sighed. That was usually where they stopped talking. He opened his mouth to try a different tactic to get a different answer, but he didn't have to. The man started talking himself. "They call themselves the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch." Hak's face fell. "It sounds ridiculous, but they're really not to be trifled with. Those men are merciless."

"Shut your mouth," a younger man barked, as he slicked back his black hair nervously, peeling off the sweat damped strands that had plied themselves to his forehead.

"I've already said too much," the first man trailed off and folded his shaking hands together. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "We can't talk about them to outsiders. Leave while you still can. You don't know what they could do to you."

The words stuck with Hak as he walked back to camp. The sky faded from blue to grey charcoal tones before he even remembered to look up. It was unusual. Yona and their group had called themselves the Happy Hungry Bunch once before when they had acted as bandits within the Fire Tribe's territory. It didn't change anything, but he wondered why an unfamiliar group of bandits would've adopted their old nickname. He'd seen the members a couple of times with Yoon, but he didn't recognize any of their men, and he didn't see much merit to posing as a preexisting group of bandits. It might have been to boost reputation, considering how Yona and the gang had hit village after village, eradicating corruption hidden behind the veil of infamy. His brows knitted as he stepped back into the camp. Yoon cleaned up finished plates with a rag, and Shin-Ah silently kept watch. Zeno and the rest were causing a ruckus as usual, but they were so far away, their voices blended with the babble of crickets. He looked around and frowned.

"Where is the princess?"

Yoon looked at him suspiciously for a second and then returned to what he was doing. "She's in her tent. She's asleep. Eat something." He leaned back and scooped a spoonful of beans out of a boiling pot, and it slid into a messy slop in his wooden bowl. Hak stared at the tent opening, and Yoon rolled his eyes. "Leave her be. She's been training nonstop on her own all day for tomorrow, since someone wouldn't help her. It wore her out. So, don't bother her."

"I wasn't planning on it." Hak shrugged, and sat down, throwing back the soup. The silence ate away at the air between them.

"You know, I may be a pretty boy, but I'm also pretty perceptive." He swiped the moistened cloth across the last dish, and narrowed his eyes. "I don't care what you do, but it better not have a bad impact on this group." A cry echoed from between the trees, and Yoon slapped his tools against the ground. "I'm going to tell those idiots to keep it down."

Hak watched Yoon disappear through the shrubbery and lifted off the ground. He parted the cloth of Yona's tent, and poked his head through. Her small shivering frame was slumped beneath a thin sheet. He tilted his head to the side for a moment, and went back to grab a thicker blanket. Settling to his knees, he carefully threaded inside around her trembling body, and draped the woolen fabric over her side. He tucked the edges beneath her and the quakes that ran down her spine gradually dwindled. Admiring her face, he noticed the slightest quiver in her eyelashes. He ran his finger gently against them, and smiled. It was a relief to see her sleeping so peacefully. It reminded him of when she was a kid, and she'd slept beside him when the three of them had all caught a fever. Those days seemed so long ago now. He'd snuck a kiss then, too.

Leaning down, his lips brushed against hers. The second passed, and he drew away. Pushing through the opening of the tent, Hak stepped out. He sighed and sat a moment, sucking back air. He felt even more pathetic.

Yona stared at the ceiling of the tent after she watched him leave. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she traced the edges. Clenching her fist, she flipped to her other side and waited for sleep to come. It didn't.


End file.
